Guest Reviews

Kenanga Hotel: "Beautiful tranquil oasis in the rice fields"

"The Kenanga in Ubud is a perfect place to stay. We had a room overlooking the beautiful rice fields of the hotel. The gardens are very lovely and the infinity pool is awesome. Breakfast is served a la carte and is delicious (the fruit jam is very tasty...). To get to Ubud Centre there is a free shuttle every hour until 5pm. Afterwards you have to take a taxi for around 40000 Rupiah. An alternative (by daylight) is to walk through the lush rice fields and arrive in the city centre after 1 hour. Carine, the owner is extremely helpful and organized a small private trekking tour with a local guide for us to a remote waterfall. All in all we had a wonderful time in Kenanga and will be back for sure next time we are in Ubud."

Tiger Mountain Pokhara Lodge: "Just the best, if you can stay here"

The care and attention to detail I do not believe can be improved at this excellent place. All the staff, and indeed the owner are at hand to make your visit a positive one. I do not eat meat and was given an array of specially made food for my pleasure. The views on clear days are spectacular and to sit with a cup of tea and watch the mountains is a very special experience.

SEEDS Restaurant & Lounge: "Superb food in beautiful setting"

I had lunch with friends and was pleasantly surprised by the beautiful location, the impressive ambiance and the professional and extremely friendly service. Food was an adventure; beautiful, with surprises that pleased the palate. Not not cheap but worth every penny.

Neeleshwar Hermitage: "Fantastic!"

"We had a wonderful time at the resort. Beautiful setting, gorgeous views, excellent service and delicious food every day. Best place for relaxing including great Ayurveda treatments. Highly recommendable! Hermann&Monika Neumann"

MesaStila: "Head Over Heels In Love with This Place"

"I just fell head over heels in love with this place. It's a hidden gem. Totally underrated. Breathtaking views of the mountains and sunset, personalized service and true Javanese hospitality. We got a villa with a mountain view and it was worth paying a bit more for it. We enjoyed the tour of the property's coffee plantation and the spa. My eight-year-old son enjoyed horse riding through the village surrounding the resort. I also went trail running with by their awesome fitness manager. It's one of my most memorable experiences going up and down slopes through the property's coffee plantation, on jungle trails, past beautiful paddy terraces as the local villagers greeted us. Would I go back? It's a definite yes."

Jing’s Residence: "Perfect in every way"

Family of five, had 2 rooms. Was easily the best place we stayed in china. The staff treated us like family, teaching the boys calligraphy, taking the time to teach us about chinese culture. We were truly spoiled. The rooms were impeccable, traditional in style but comfortable and modern. Breakfast was included and delicious - we ate one dinner there and it was our best meal in china. The hotel is inside the pedestrian only area of the town, so we had the hotel pick us up from the train station. Can't sing praises enough of this establishment. A real gem in a gorgeous little town.

Amata Lanna: "Lovely room, friendly staff, & healthy Breakfast"

Traveled with my adult son. Lovely tropical feeling hotel. Pool in the middle of the property. Had 2 beds, a bit firmer then I'm use to, surpricenly slept very well. Friendly staff, great location. Must experience a meal at "Lemon Grass" 5 minute walk.

Golden Buddha Beach Resort: "Secluded paradise"

"The resort is a collection of bungalows and a clubhouse built along a pristine stretch of the Andaman coast, along with a more protected bay for swimming (there's a great beach bar on this end). If you're arriving by sea (and not by jeep from the pier) the boat drops you off in the bay, and you wade through the water onto the beach, which sets the tone for the stay. Most of the baans are open air, as is the clubhouse, and you wake up and fall asleep to the sound of waves, the wind, crickets (or whatever the local variant), lizards, birds, and monkeys. Likewise, although the west-facing beach doesn't have any lounge chairs or umbrellas, we were often the only people sitting on our towels under the shade of palm trees, watching scuttling crabs and the receding tide. It truly is designed to bring you as close to nature as possible without actually camping on the beach. The people at the resort are all lovely - Massi, Duang, and all the folks who worked in the clubhouse and the bar are professional and friendly. A special thanks to P'Wam, the head chef, who gave me a great cooking class. The food is uniformly delicious, fresh, and varied a lot from day to day. We were there for four days and didn't see the same dish twice at dinner. Breakfast is plentiful. Everything, from the food to the drinks, was fairly priced and great value considering how difficult it must be to provision the place. A few things that might be helpful to know before going: The waves on the long stretch of beach are quite wild and we didn't find it possible to swim, but it's great for strolls and lying around. If you're going in peak season with kids, don't count on being able to hang out at that beach with them. The bay side was quiet when we were there (in mid December, we felt we had the run of the place) but I can imagine it getting quite crowded around Christmas. The mosquitos and black flies are no joke. I showed up without any DEET and had to buy some immediately, and use it constantly, and even then I was bitten. If you tend to attract bites, plan on covering up and using DEET in the morning and evening. In retrospect I wish we had gone for a beachfront baan as they probably had fewer bugs than ours, which didn't get as much breeze. Our baan was beautifully maintained and felt very private, with an outdoor bathroom and decks. Note that the water is from a well and gives off a strong sulphurous odour, which keeps showers short and eco friendly. All in all, a truly special place that runs seamlessly despite its remoteness and the encroaching jungle and sea around it. We enjoyed our time there and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it or go back."

The Tiger’s Eye: "Not to be missed!"

This is probably my favourite restaurant in Phnom Penh. The cocktails were sensational and each course was flawless. The staff knew the menu well and were super professional. This place is very much "on trend" and if you're in Phnom Penh, it's not to be missed. Yummmmmm!!

Noel Rodrigo’s Leopard Safaris: "Ethical safari company and wonderful staff; game safaris are a bonus! A++++"

"Summary: If you want a unique and special experience – come and stay here! Seeing a leopard is just a bonus! The safaris, the camp, and the team are brilliant. The company is ethical, environmentally-minded and the staff is knowledgeable, professional and passionate. You will not regret glamping, going on safari and generally having a brilliant time. I would recommend Noel Rodrigos Leopard Safaris to anyone and everyone! We went on a few safaris during our time in Yala but Leopard Safaris was so superior in every sense of the word! My only regret was not staying longer!!! I recently stayed with my husband and 8-year-old son. After a short drive from the pick area, we got received with a warm welcome and a cold towel. Well, Noel Roderigo’s Leopard Safaris, you had me at cold towel.... it continued to get better and better from there. We got a fresh coconut drink and then shown to our tent. The tent Hailing from Australia we are very used to camping. Often, we just throw down a swag or a very thin mattress on the ground. Glamping is the ultimate in camping – you get a real bed and awesome amenities. You get the excitement of camping with the creature comforts. It makes the entire experience so special. The fact that everything is ecological friendly makes this experience even more unique. The fact they have NO plastic made me so proud of them! What a wonderful thing to do and it just shows that Noel walks the talk of eco-tourism! I would say that getting the tent with the a/c is probably a good idea during hot times of the year. We got the unairconditioned tent and we did sweat a bit. Each ‘bedroom’ and the main area did have a small fan and you did get some air flowing through the tent too. If I had to have one criticism, it was the tent zips. I can see how this would be a hard thing to maintain. Sometimes when you closed the tent the zip would pop open. You could do it but you had to have a few goes. Cuisine Wow, just wow! The meals were some of the best we had during our 2.5 months in Sri Lanka. The chef also made a non-spicy variety for our super fussy son. Our son didn’t eat it but that is no reflection on his cooking ability, as our son doesn’t eat much other than bread! Following each meal, there was an interesting explanation of the ingredients or the meals. They were all traditional Sri Lankan meals and utterly delicious. If you do not cope with spice, as one of the other visitors didn’t, you might want to mention this. It was hot and spicy but that is the way we love it! Each meal was different and the selection interesting. The amount of food was generous. They also source all food locally. Each meal was set up at a different location within the camp and it was beautifully decorated each time. Our son absolutely loved making the string hoppers with the traditional press. You do need to realise you are eating under the stars, literally, and I had bugs come say hello. I am not sure why they decided I was the most exciting. But if you fear bugs, I would say maybe you need to go to a more sterile environment! The camp The entire camp was rustic, practical but also gorgeous. There were many areas just to relax and wind down. At night, it was utterly beautiful - You had small lights guiding you everywhere in the camp at night. The lounge/bar area was beyond beautiful during the day but at night, it was light up with candles and was perfect. We got some light snacks, again delicious and wound down with a wine or beer. Its a really nice way to relax prior to dinner. My husband did open the portable A/C unit in this area and did end up jumping about 10 feet into the air when a small brown snake sprung out of the unit at great speed! It was just exciting and great to see that nature was so chilled it popped in for a swim. It could be free and wild even in the camp! The snake was not dangerous. They were building a new addition - a pool! That will be an unreal addition! I can imagine how relaxing that will be. Ecological and ethically minded tourism Everything about Leopard Safaris is well thought out and has a purpose, yet looked awesome too! You can feel good about staying here. Often I feel a little sick when I see water in plastic bottles, here they stored in glass bottles in the camp and in metal bottles on game drives! What a novel idea! It really should be the NORM!! Electricity is from solar panels and a dual battery system in their safari jeeps. When they are driving it will recharge a battery, how cool is that?! I looked around and everywhere was “reduce, reuse and recycle”. You drink from jars, the basins are upcycled from pots, the fences and bridges are from fallen branches etc. etc.I could go on and on about these examples. As I said before, there is no plastic anywhere! You even had a sink that filtered the tooth paste you spat into the small basin! Our son also got to plant a tree in the camp. It was a lovely touch and great to teach kids about carbon footprint in a practical sense. Plus in the future, you can come visit ‘your’ tree. The company also funds a number of environmental and community programs. Just prior to our safari I was reading about them giving aid to those affected by the 2017 floods - transporting supplies. Again, they walk the talk! It is so refreshing to see! We did have one somewhat unnerving experience. The farmer next door used a VERY loud firework to scare away the elephants 4 or 5 times. We had a mobile to call the team but I think maybe they should have called us to say, “don’t worry the world is not ending”. It was so loud! Plus, I could hear the elephant breaking the trees and I am unsure how close it got but the farmer needed to set off way too many to scare the elephant away. It added to the excitement but I am not sure how great that is for the elephants. We got told it was an unusual occurrence though, as the fence near the camp had been broken a few days earlier. Safaris As I said, the safaris are just the bonus! Even though the leopard did elude us, I know we were very close a number of times. It didn't matter though (well I did want to see one!) but we saw countless other animals and birds, and we had an utterly wonderful experience. A highlight was a crocodile trying to climb a tree to get away from an angry buffalo! The Jeep – was very comfortable, drink bottles, cold drinks in an Esky, snacks, guide books and binoculars. It was well maintained and comfortable. Our Naturalist/Guide – Saamera He is a wonderful person and guide. He is so passionate about wildlife conservation and it really showed. He is very engaging and has excellent English. He is well versed and well educated about wildlife. I really enjoyed talking to him at length about conservation during our meals. He has the world’s most sensitive ears and was constantly on the lookout for signs of leopards and all other wildlife. It was great that he also didn’t talk all the time. Silence is golden at times. He had the mix right. If we asked a question, he answered with knowledgeable answers. Again, comparing to other “guides” we met who clearly made up the answers. The driver – Praneeth He was such a great driver. Actually, he was amazing! He drove at a reliable speed and it was comfortable. I felt like he could have a lot to offer in terms of guiding too, he clearly knew his stuff. He heard so many noises and looked for tracks, and knew all the cues. Other jeeps you can just see screaming around the place with no purpose. The team Saamera and Praneeth worked together and would discuss where to go next if they heard a noise that meant leopards were near. You could tell they liked working together. I feel bad I do not know everyone’s name but everyone was great! I guess my only criticism is – where are the chicks at? Maybe they are a distraction? Haha. Either way! I think having some females around the camp would be great! All that said, I would have loved to have met the “Master” himself, Noel! In his absence, his team does a great job. Conclusion We did a 1-night safari with 2 game drives and I really wish we did 2 nights. 1 night was just not enough! I cannot wait to return to see the leopards that did elude us! We were so close several times hearing many warning calls. I would love to return one day soon and even try out the Wilpattu glamping location you offer. I already know the level of care, service, and diligence will be sensational. Thank you, Noel, Saamera and the entire Leopard Safaris team! You are head and shoulder above 99% of the other operators out there. Please do not ever change your spots!"